Archers thread #169: Denise rocks the boat in more than one way! Will Chris find a message in a cider bottle? Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd have liked to have Harrison's behbe, or other unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please! We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have - BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Thanks to @LikeTalkingToLassie and @BrightYellowDaffodil for title inspiration. Is this the end for Denise and John? It does seem odd to introduce John now if he's going to disappear. He has a lovely voice.

Over to you!

To me Alastair is an integral character to the village despite not being an archer

It was the not being one, but existing precariously under their wing that gave his character its drama. At least to me!

I will be interested in Jakob's reaction.

I love potato salad with either mayonnaise or vinaigrette, but both are best made when the potatoes are still warm so they absorb the dressing.

Poached salmon (and smoked trout and other smoked fish) are lovely with horseradish sauce, just to chuck another sauce in the mix.

The village would still have a vet if Alistair, Denise and Paul all left in different directions.

Jakob.

Of the three, the one with any actual reason to stay is Alistair, because of Jim. He is also the one of the three I dislike least.

But Alastair has lived in the village for decades and has friends there. It’s his home. Why would he move?

and if you add the vinaigrette to freshly cooked pasta it elevates the whole salad. Yum

Bruisername
But Alastair has lived in the village for decades and has friends there. It’s his home. Why would he move?

I didn't suggest for an instant that he would, or should, if you look. I just said he was not the only vet living in Ambridge. Also that he had a reason to stay, which, unlike the other two, he does.

Yes sorry - I was agreeing with you! Having trouble with the site

I like horseradish with smoked salmon but for some reason it never occurred to me to try it with fresh. Must do. Last Friday's salmon fillet got turned into a mousse with Greek yoghurt, gelatine, lemon juice and tomato puree. Delish.

I've been away and am just catching up. It's really brought home to me how little I care what happens to Alistair and Denise and how much I've hated the whole storyline. And indeed how little I care about most of the characters these days. Even characters who once had an interesting personality now seem to be nothing more than plot-driven ciphers with no consistency and therefore difficult to care about.

I think I'm just hanging on for the resolution of Bridge-gate as I do still care about George and I am hoping there can be some kind of positive outcome for him. I'm also looking forward to how the various family members respond when the truth about George and Alice is revealed.

And I suppose I am still hoping for a life-changing, limb-lopping, blood-soaked tree surgery incident, preferably with an unfeasibly elongated blood-curdling scream.

Is it just my imagination or are the characters' appearances much more spread out than they used to be? It's ages since we've heard from Brian, for example. And what has happened to Meg the Horse Whisperer? Much easier to lose interest when a character only pops up occasionally.

Is it just my imagination or are the characters' appearances much more spread out than they used to be? I feel this too - Ambridge seems much more disjointed than it used to. I also agree that any chainsawing immediately sounds ominous, but I really don't want anything to happen to Ed or Em. Perhaps the chainsaw could fall on Justin while he's out extracting his pound of flesh (literally) for his early investment? If he happened to be in conversation with his tedious ex-wife then so much the better.

Brian (the actor) is married to Shula in real life. I’m sure I read that they have a home in France so I would imagine he’s sipping chilled rosé for apéro hour with her at the moment.

Judy Bennett and Charles Collingwood had moved to a house near Petersfield, last I heard; when did they get one in France?

www.retiremove.co.uk/at-home-with-the-archers/

I agree with this. I'm sure in decades past it wasn't this noticeable/ disjointed. Maybe I'm just wearing rose-tinted glasses.

I hope EmnEd, don’t have a horrible accident, I am hoping they are successful in their business efforts. Do want the George Alice stuff sorted, quickly now, it’s dragged on long enough.

I’m a few weeks behind, but is the actor who plays Denise’s husband the same one who plays Jakob’s brother? I couldn’t find anything online.

Also, who is the Mack household? I saw a few comments further up, is it a person or you’ve all given them a nickname?

Dare I hope that Paul has now flounced off, never to be heard of again?

I've never understood why he is still around, having been seconded to help out whilst his mother was away.

Going through the cast-lists, it's clear that there are fewer actors per week than there used to be. Also many of the actors are not in the programme for weeks at a time or appear only in one scene when they do speak.

David, for instance, has spoken this year on

31st January
11th February
14th February
6th February
18th February
22nd February
20th May
12th July

Brian, one of whose family has had a fairly major storyline going on during the past couple of months, has not spoken since 10th May.

and so on.

@MeAgainAndAgain , no. The actors are not the same person.

The Mack family are John Mack, Denise Metcalf, Cara ? and Paul Mack.

John Mack, Paul Mack's father, is played by Richard Pepple.
Erik Hakansson, Jakob's brother, is played by Steven Hartley.

The Mack household consisted of John Mack, Paul Mack and Denise Metcalf. There is also a daughter, Cara (Cara Mack? Cara Metcalf? We don't know; she is backpacking in Canada at the moment) who may or may not be part of that household. Paul has moved out and now shares the Stables house with Josh and Lily. Denise is in the process of leaving John while not actually leaving.

@PedantScorner @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime thank you. I’d missed that only Denise was a Metcalfe.

And I thought the two actors sounded so similar, although I’m sure they’d sound very different if they were in a scene together.

I do hope John is featured a bit more because I love his voice and find it very soothing it would be interesting to see the interactions between him and everyone else with the marriage breakdown/affair.

The charging station!

I haven’t listened for weeks. Keeping up via this thread and the BBC Radio summaries .@Godesstobe I think the reason Ive stopped listening ( apart from the boring storylines) is exactly your point - that the meatier characters just don’t appear as much or pop up and disappear. Brian, PAT , Tony, Ruth , David. And I know I’ll get flamed for this, but I do like it when Hannah has a storyline

Any shop unit there has either been taken for a year or so by a national company or else is not worth having.

Wow Emmur is apparently blind to her hypocrisy … cast not the first stone you brother shagger! 😅